Current councillor Sylvia Bishop is keeping busy in her mayoral campaign, having spoke with the United Culture of China Society at Beach Grove Golf Club on Tuesday (May 29).
In her speech to the crowd of around 100 people, including Chinese-Canadian investors, Bishop talked about her own history as a child of immigrants and the importance of creating a new framework for diversity in the city.
“I believe we can do better to serve the needs and interests of our multicultural neighbours,” she said in her speech,” but we have to find out by working with them to determine what programs and services we might offer.”
In an earlier platform announcement, Bishop said that although does already makes an effort to promote diversity in the city, more needs to be done to initiate programs and services that meet the needs of all residents.
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Audeince members “didn’t realize that their community represents five per cent of Delta’s population, nor did they know that the South Asian community represents 17 per cent,” she told the North Delta Reporter. “They were very interested in that.”
During the event, Bishop also talked about some of the key issues facing the city and how she plans to deal with them if she becomes mayor.
One of the issues that got an applause from the audience, Bishop said, was the need to protect farmland in Delta. She also talked about her plan to keep Delta debt-free, and the need for better funding for parks and recreation in the city.
The Delta arts scene was another topic Bishop touched on in her speech, and one that she believed resonated with the listeners.
“There’s a high value on visual arts,” she said about the audience. “We once had a Delta arts council which was a thriving umbrella organization for North and South Delta artists. [I have] a wish, a desire to reactivate that.”
In her speech, Bishop said she still “would like to see more public art spaces whether on our civic properties, parks or larger developments.”
Bishop is running in the Team Delta slate, which includes council candidates Simran Walia, Kim Kendall, Joan Hansen and current councillor Robert Campbell.
The municipal election will take place on Oct. 20, 2018.
grace.kennedy@northdeltareporter.com
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